Memorial Health, Inc., parent company of Memorial Health University Medical Center, a hospital headquartered in Savannah, Ga., has agreed to pay the United States$5.08 million to settle allegations that it defrauded the federal Medicare program, the Justice Department announced today.

The United States alleges that between 2000 and 2004, Touro made unlawful payments of $144,000 per year to Dr. Maria Carmen Palazzo, a psychiatrist, in order to induce her to refer patients to the hospital.

The lawsuit alleges that Christ Hospital, a full service Cincinnati-based hospital and formerly a member of The Health Alliance, and Ohio Heart, the largest cardiology group in that region of Ohio, devised a scheme that provided cardiologists improper financial incentives in exchange for generating revenue for the hospital.

DALLAS — Hardeman County Memorial Hospital (Hardeman), located in Quanah, Texas, has agreed to pay the U.S. a total of $398,230.56 to resolve allegations that it violated the civil False Claims Act, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.